1. Invisible Plague of Rural America
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2. True/False Test
(1) More Americans died from drug overdose than motor vehicle accidents last year.
(2) Prescription painkillers and heroin can have the same effects on the brain and body, when misused.
(3) Heroin use has more than doubled among young adults ages 1825 in the last decade.
(4) 45% of people addicted to heroin were also addicted to prescription painkillers

3. Opioids
Research about the impact of opioids on the brain and body and why people become so easily addicted
Share answers with your group of 3

4. Before Reading Task #1 Research AIDS epidemic of 80s and 90s;
briefly summarize,
explain who it most adversely affected,
provide 3 statistics that surprised you about it.

5. Read article and Define as it pertains (page 12)
Plague
rural
epidemic
subculture
medieval
landscape
ravaged
innovation
Deceptive

6. Discussion Questions
Why is the author comparing the current opioid epidemic to the AIDS epidemic from the 1980s and 1990s?
Why do you think addiction has been called “the disease of learning”?
Who is most responsible for the current crisis of addiction and deadly overdose?

7. Task #2 Who is responsible for this opioid epidemic?
Brainstorm answers as a group, and then as a class
Once finished, conduct research to find out what role each has played in the current epidemic according to your assigned group
Explain your group’s role, and justify why it could be considered the most responsible

8. Task #3
2-3 paragraph response to the Opioid epidemic